Essar defaults, to present plan to noteholders
Mumbai: Essar Steel has notified bond holders of its floating rate notes that it is unable to redeem the notes on the due date -which  was 20 July 1999.

In doing so, it has become the first Indian company to default on international debt obligations.

The company said it intends to present a plan to noteholders within 90 days of the scheduled redemption date. The plan would include either refinance or extension of the maturity of the FRNs.

The company has claimed it is in a position to pay the interest on the FRNs shortly.

Sources said that the company is making efforts to raise funds to redeem at least about $100 million of the FRNs, while the balance $150 million would be rolled over in consultation with the trustee, Chase Manhattan.  
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Madras Refineries in marketing tie-up with BPCL
Chennai: Madras Refineries Limited (MRL) has signed a 10-year marketing agreement with Bharat Petroleum Corporation, which gives BPCL marketing rights for products manufactured at the Manali refinery of MRL.

MRL has a 6.5-million tonne per annum refining capacity of at Manali. 
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Sell off MSTC, Sponge Iron, government told
New Delhi: The Disinvestment Commission has recommended in its 11th report to the government that it must sell MSTC Ltd and Sponge Iron India Ltd.

The commission has also suggested privatisation of engineering consultancy firm Metallurgical and Engineering Consultants India and that Minerals Exploration Corporation should either be closed down or the entire stake held by the government should be disinvested.  
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Petronet, Kannur project ink MoU
Mumbai: Petronet LNG and the Kannur Power Project have signed a memorandum of understanding for supply of liquid natural gas from 2005 to the north Kerala power project. Petronet LNG's terminal at Kochi is expected to go on stream by  then.

The power plant scheduled to be operational in 2002 will run on naphtha for the first three years before switching over to LNG, K.P.P.Nambiar, promoter of the 513 MW power project, said. The petroleum ministry has already allocated 6,41,000 tonnes of naphtha annually to the power plant. 
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Telco takes on defaulting dealers
Mumbai: Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company has decided not to supply its commercial vehicles to its dealers who have large outstandings.

The company is understood to have informed these dealers that it would also terminate their dealerships. These dealers include some who have been with the company for several decades.

The dealers claim that they have run up dues of over Rs 100 crore, mainly on account of poor off-take of commercial vehicles in 1995-96, which prompted the company to dump vehicles in these dealers' yards. 
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Canara Bank moves BIFR in ABCL case
New Delhi: Canara Bank has moved the Board for Industrial l and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) to appoint a court receiver for attachment of two flats of Amitabh Bachchan Corporation (ABCL) in Mumbai to recover its dues of Rs 14 crore.

The bank had, in a consortium with Allahabad Bank, extended credit facilities of Rs 14 crore, including Rs 10 crore from its own funds to the entertainment company.

BIFR had declared ABCL a sick company and had asked Canara Bank to move an application in case it desired to seek attachment of properties belonging to the company. 
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CMC to restructure
New Delhi: Public sector computer maintenance company CMC Ltd is recasting its financial and operational set-up. The company is also planning to hive off its three strategic business units into separate companies, proposing an employee stock option scheme and increasing its presence in facility management, system integration and services segment.

The company is also negotiating with Indian Oil Corporation for a joint venture to provide solutions to oil majors worldwide. Indian Oil is already an alliance partner of CMC.
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Zodiac to acquire textile units
Mumbai: Zodiac Clothing Co, owners of one of India's greatest brand names in men's fashion, Zodiac, is in talks with leading players in the market to acquire manufacturing units with or without their brands.

Managing director of the company Anees Noorani, however, refused to divulge the names, but confirmed that there are fantastic opportunities available in acquisitions.  
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Mallya firm for Johannesburg bourse listing
Bangalore: Vijay Mallya is planning to list his National Sorghum Breweries, based at Centurion near Pretoria on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. He had earlier successfully launched his Ubics, a software company on the Nasdaq.

Mr Mallya is also said to be looking to acquire a company that can  complement National Sorghum Breweries' operations. 
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Foodworld to have outlet in Pune
Pune: Foodworld, a retail chain promoted by the RPG group in technical collaboration with Dairy Farm International, will open its Pune store in September 1999. The company plans to open seven stores by March 2000.

Foodworld is awaiting government clearance to turn the venture into a joint venture with Dairy Farm International. The store will stock national brands and products as well as regional and local brands. It is also in the process of developing its own brands. 
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Escorts to export tractors to Europe
Pune: Escorts is planning to enter the European market with its tractors using components of Carraro Spa.

Escorts has a joint venture with Carraro Spa and Carraro India has just set up its manufacturing plant at Ranjangaon near Pune.

Escorts will supply its Farmtrac 50 to 60 HP range in the European market.

Carraro India has invested Rs 70 crore in the project till now and has a capacity to manufacture 7,000 transmission units. The company is expected to manufacture transmissions and axles for the Italian parent and later serve the Indian market. 
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Hella hikes stake in   Indian JV
New Delhi: Hella Hueck, the German auto component major is taking over the management control of its joint venture in India, JMA Industries, by hiking its equity stake in the company from the current 26 per cent to 51 per cent.

JMA Industries is a leading supplier of automotive lighting and signalling equipment. Hella will acquire preferential rights shares at a price of Rs 27.30 per share against the ruling price of Rs 15-17. 
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Dynamix, Hiranandani part ways
Mumbai: The K.M. Goenka-owned Dynamix group has parted ways with Hiranandani Constructions and the Dubai-based Emirates Trading Agency.

As part of the separation, the 1.3-acre plot of land in Parel purchased from the Piramals, will be given to Niranjan Hiranandani. The land has been valued at Rs 27.59 crore.

The restructuring involves transfer of real estate projects and properties from the K.M. Goenka-owned Conwood Agencies to Hiranandanis. Niranjan Hiranandani's holdings in the flagship company Dynamix as well as industrial projects like Binny are in the process of being transferred to Mr Goenka.

Britannia Industries is considering picking up a stake in Dynamix Dairy Industries, while foreign collaborator Schreiber of the US is likely to source its supply of cheese and other dairy products to the Asia-Pacific market from Dynamix.  
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Microsoft to trade off Sidewalk for stake
New York: Microsoft Corporation is close to finalising a deal to trade major parts of its Sidewalk service to Ticket Master Online CitySearch for a nine per cent stake in that company.

The Wall Street Journal said the deal would be valued at about $225 million. Sidewalk is a city guide on the internet that spans the country. Ticket Master Online CitySearch has a market value of about 42.5 billion. The agreement would involve selling Sidewalk brandname, arts and entertainment content and rights to hire its staff of 90 editors and writers in10 cities nationwide.   
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New product for internet banking
New York: Virtual Communications, a subsidiary of Computer Science and Technology, a company promoted by an Indian, Ashok Dhar, has introduced a web-banking product, Web@TM. The product attempts to grab a share of the merging market of on-line banking business.

Mr Dhar says there are about 8,000 banks in the US and only 1,250 have internet banking now. His product will target smaller banks, which need to pursue internet banking.  
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AOL for free internet service
London: AOL Europe, overtaken this year by Britain's biggest internet service provider and no-charge rival Freeserve, says it is launching a free service on its own. AOL Europe is a joint venture between America Online and Bertelsmann of Germany.

AOL Europe said it will complement its flagship AOL and CompuServe brands in Britain, where Freeserve, launched last year by Dixons Group, has pioneered a revolutionary shift towards subscription-free services.. AOL Europe's current services are paid for by a monthly charge equivalent of several dollars. 
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Elf launches counter bid on TotalFina
Paris: Elf Aquitaine of France launched a 50.3 billion euro ($50.8 billion) counter bid for national rival TotalFina, two weeks after TotalFina made a hostile bid on Elf.

Elf, which had pledged to fend off TotalFina's bid, said it is offering three of its shares plus 190 euros for every five TotalFina share, giving TotalFina shareholders a premium of about 10 per cent over Friday's closing price.

TotalFina is offering four of its shares for three Elf shares.

Elf says post-acquisition it will create two distinct groups -- a pure energy company which will be the world's fourth largest, and a separate chemicals group which will be ranked fifth globally. 
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Global Crossing, Qwest end takeover war
New York: The takeover battle of US West and Frontier Corporation ended in a compromise as US West accepted an unsolicited merger offer from Qwest Communications International and Frontier Corporation chose to stay with its existing partner Global Crossing.

Global Crossing reaffirmed its definitive $11 billion or $63 a share merger agreement with local and long-distance phone company Frontier after Qwest withdrew its competing $12 billion bid

US West, the smallest of the five Baby Bell local phone companies, terminated its $3 billion merger pact with Global Crossing and accepted Qwest's $36 billion deal, or $69 per share.  
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Fuji Heavy in talks with Ford, GM
Tokyo: Fuji Heavy Industries, maker of the Subaru cars and the last of Japan's independent second-tier carmakers, has plans for tie-ups with US auto majors General Motors and Ford Motor.

Fuji Heavy said its president Takeshi Tanaka met executives at General Motors and Ford Motor for possible cooperation in technology and parts procurement.

It said the talks did not cover possible equity stakes.    
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